Mothers take action to demand increase in child-care centers

A parents’ group in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward on February 18 staged a rally in front of the ward office, protesting against the acute shortage of public daycare centers for young children.

About 60 mothers, whose children were unable to enter authorized day nurseries, attended the rally and raised their voices in protest.

A mother, who is bringing up her baby under the age of one, said using a microphone, “In the ward, as many as 1,800 children are not admitted to authorized nurseries. The ward government should face up to this wretched condition and do something about it.”

Other protestors said, “I have applied to many child-care centers even during my final month of pregnancy,” and “Is it a decent society where a two-income family cannot have a child?”

Japanese Communist Party Suginami Ward Assemblyman Harada Akira stated, “My child was also put on a waiting list to enter an authorized day nursery. Ignoring citizens’ sufferings, the ward is trying to accumulate a fund of 55 billion yen from taxpayers’ money. The amount to build one authorized daycare center is only 500 million yen. The JCP is determined to work together with the public to increase childcare facilities.”